Bathed in glorious autumn sunshine and surrounded by curious tourists, there was no evidence last night that the protest camp outside St Paul's Cathedral was going anywhere. In fact the aim for many of those braving increasingly chilly nights inside the tents is to be here until Christmas at least.

A week on from the start of the occupation, the consensus among protesters is that the steadily growing encampment skirting the London landmark has been established for the long haul.

As senior figures from St Paul's met with City of London Corporation officials over Friday's unexpected announcement that the cathedral would be closed, for the first time since the second world war, over health and safety concerns, camp residents were talking of bedding in for months. Christmas is an aim for some, others say they want to hang on until next summer when the capital hosts the Olympic Games.

If the cathedral remained closed for the duration of the protests, cancellation of its renowned Christmas services and carol concerts would come as a great disappointment to many.

Peter Vaughan, 24, from Hackney, east London, a volunteer for the Occupy movement, said the camp had evolved into a long-term project. "We plan to stay until we see a change in the direction of the government and its relationship with the financial sector."

Former infantryman David Harris, 36, from Toxteth in Liverpool, was typically defiant. He said: "I'll be here next summer if that's what it takes to change the system."

Hugo de Armas, 37, from Tenerife, whose tent was one of the first to arrive outside St Paul's, said: "We have created a space for dialogue, I hope to stay here for Christmas, longer."

The tented village around St Paul's – 200 canvas homes and counting – has acquired an increasingly permanent feel, and now boasts a bookshop, information centre and a prayer room.

Friday's announcement by the dean of St Paul's that the cathedral had to be closed because of health and safety concerns has, according to protesters, not quelled hopes of a long peaceful occupation. Some 1.9 million people visit Sir Christopher Wren's cathedral, one of the UK's top 10 tourist attractions, every year, with ticket sales worth £16,000 a day.

Canon Peter Bruinvels, a member of the General Synod, said the financial losses caused by the closure were a tragedy. "Clearly now the demonstrators should pack up their tents and go. St Paul's is a greater cause than theirs and they should acknowledge that. The cathedral is losing £20,000 for every day it is shut. It gets no state support. It cannot afford to be shut."

A straw poll of visitors suggested that more than three-quarters believe the Occupy camp complemented the lure of St Paul's.

Georgios Stergakis, from Thessaloniki, Greece, said that the sight of the 400 or so protesters was a "beautiful" one. The 37-year-old said: "I love it, we are having the same problems, but in Greece the politicians have not listened. I hope it is different here."

Graphic designer Jacquie Clark, 27, from New York, who has visited the Occupy Wall Street camp, said it was appropriate that the church became a place of protest, a view shared by Australian James McKeenan, 37, from Melbourne, who said: "The backdrop of St Paul's provides a delicious irony, the juxtaposition of the cathedral and tents is really inspiring, it works very well. It's a great movement and an epic building. I am really enjoying the sight of it all together."

Mary Deloi, 62, from Malaysia, said: "The protest adds to the place, everything is very peaceful. Freedom of expression is very important and you appreciate that where I am from."

Student Trevor Chang, 21, from Vancouver, said: "It all adds to the experience, it's good to see the locals come out."

One member of Anonymous UK said if they were forcibly evicted they would simply move to another London site. "We would start looking for alternative camps before that happened," she said. Throughout yesterday, the police presence remained discreet, its officers still officially tasked with "facilitating a peaceful protest".

Ashley Bignall, 30, from Wandsworth – owner of Star-Books opposite the Starbucks coffee shop – said: "We will do everything to keep going, the longer we are here, the more chance people have to converse with each other." So far, Occupy organisers have introduced fire exits and cleared walkways and access routes for emergency services. It is understood that central to the cathedral's concerns are the legal ramifications if a protester hurts themselves on site. By late afternoon church sources also said that Occupy organisers had yet to officially meet the dean of St Paul's, the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles, who has asked protesters to "let the cathedral get its life back".

Among the few dissenting voices were Lee Fairweather, 30 and his girlfriend, part-time pharmacist Dawn Lane, 27, who had travelled from Macclesfield to the capital hoping to visit St Paul's. Fairweather said: "It has ruined it for us, we don't get to London much. I'm not against the protest but I really wanted to go in there."

Earlier, Egyptian activist Nawal el Saadawi addressed protesters on the steps of the cathedral. Celebrating her 80th birthday yesterday she likened the tents around St Paul's to those that occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square during the Egyptian uprising. She said: "All over the world it's a global revolution, we must fight together."

A library, a homeless shelter, an experimental form of government - the Occupy London has them all. John Domokos spends the day with protesters, passersby and even the odd banker to try to connect with the people behind the protest